Editor
The Clermont Chamber of Commerce welcomed Jonah Sandler, chief entertainment officer of Scene75, to the January Breakfast Forum on Jan. 20, where he spoke about his journey to open Scene75.
If breakfast attendees got anything out of hearing Sandler speak, he hopes it was to pursue dreams, no matter how lofty they might seem, he told the audience.
Scene75, which opened in Dayton four years ago, started as a dream, but Sandler used Facebook marketing to build fans for the original location before it even opened. He has been so successful, he opened a second location in Miami Township about four months ago.
When Sandler started thinking about opening an entertainment center, he was living in Chicago. He had a secure job and a girlfriend, but he left both to move to a house in a foreclosed subdivision in Dayton without the promise of a steady paycheck and without the girlfriend, he said.
However, his family means the world to him and they were struggling, so Sandler wanted to help. He saw Scene 75 as an opportunity to help his family financially. In addition, he wanted to have a career he was passionate about and help the community.
“I knew of no higher calling for the use of my time,” Sandler said.
Not many people believed in Sandler and his vision, or understood why he would put the entertainment center in Dayton. However, he was willing to risk everything, Sandler said.
“I pushed forward against all odds. I felt this burning desire so deep within me that it became, in reality, my life’s obsession. I was so focused on this path,” Sandler said.
He spent nearly three years researching, going to seminars and talking to manufacturers. Since he had an interesting story, he was able to make unique deals with manufacturers. In addition, Sandler found partners and designed Scene75 by himself because he couldn’t afford a consultant.
As Sandler began sending out press releases, the media started to take notice, but even with stories published, very few people knew about Scene75 just months before it was set to open. That was why Sandler decided to create a Facebook page.
Sandler started the Facebook page about seven months before Scene75 opened. He shared personal stories to show users that Scene75 is a human story, not a story about a corporation. The more that Sandler wrote, the more fans the page got and the more that Sandler and Scene75 started to be recognized.
All of Sandler’s work paid off. On opening day there were lines and on every Saturday for months Scene75 hit max capacity, he said. This allowed Sandler to slowly add more games.
Sandler also told the audience about two of his most memorable experiences after opening.
The first was on Halloween in 2012. Sandler decided against having Halloween at Scene75 because of safety concerns, but when the day came and the weather was miserable, Sandler had people posting on the Facebook page and asking Scene75 to host.
“I could tell it was something the community wanted,” Sandler said.
He decided around noon to hold Halloween at Scene75, and by the time the night was over, more than 2,500 people attended.
“It was just incredible and that was all done with social media,” Sandler said.
In December 2014, Sandler was woken up at 4 a.m. by a call saying that the ATM in Scene75 was stolen. As the robbery became public, the police were being insulted and blamed.
Sandler wanted to make the experience positive, so he posted on Facebook and said that he hoped the robber needed the money and that he felt for the police. That post had 140,000 organic views, 6,800 likes, 1,400 comments and 1,191 shares.
“Through the process we built, again, a lot of good will,” Sandler said.
He also discussed what the facilities have to offer as far as activities and special events. In addition, Sandler discussed the community service events Scene75 does, like a Big Brothers Big Sisters day when a big and little can play for free.
“We’re a bit different from a lot of other centers,” Sandler said.
Scene75 has received a lot of awards, including being named one of the top three entertainment centers in North America.
“It’s been an unbelievable journey,” Sandler said.
Scene75 has really benefited the county because people are traveling many miles to spend time there, which means they will also spend money on items such as food and gas in the area, said Chamber president/CEO Matt Van Sant.
“Clermont County is so grateful for this investment,” Van Sant said.
He added that the county is happy to have Scene75 here.
“The entertainment industry is a very, very risky proposition. For them to show the confidence that they have in the east side says a lot about the pro-wealth, pro-business orientation that we have here in Clermont County,” Van Sant said.